legitimately C2+ Topic:Law & Government US /ləˈdʒɪtəmətli/ UK /lɪˈdʒɪtɪmətli/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adv in a way that conforms to law or accepted standards; justifiably She legitimately earned every promotion she received. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adv · in a way that conforms to... lawfullyjustifiablyvalidlyrightfullyproperlylegally ↔ Opposites illegitimatelyunlawfullyunjustifiably Word family Related forms legitimatelegitimacylegit Etymology AI details From legitimate (Medieval Latin legitimātus, from Latin lēgitimus 'lawful', from lēx 'law') + the adverbial suffix -ly. lēgitimus Latin lēx Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # legitimately **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adv **IPA (US):** /ləˈdʒɪtəmətli/ **IPA (UK):** /lɪˈdʒɪtɪmətli/ ## Meanings 1. in a way that conforms to law or accepted standards; justifiably ## Examples - She legitimately earned every promotion she received. ## Synonyms - lawfully - justifiably - validly - rightfully - properly - legally ## Antonyms - illegitimately - unlawfully - unjustifiably ## Related Forms - legitimate - legitimacy - legit ## Roots and Affixes - Root: lēgitimus - Root: lēx ## Etymology From legitimate (Medieval Latin legitimātus, from Latin lēgitimus 'lawful', from lēx 'law') + the adverbial suffix -ly. ## AI Etymology Legitimately is from legitimate (Medieval Latin legitimātus, from Latin lēgitimus 'lawful', from lēx 'law') + the adverbial suffix -ly. Important recorded forms include lēgitimus (Latin) and lēx (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers in a way that conforms to law or accepted standards; justifiably. The wider family includes related words such as legitimate, legitimacy, and legit. ## Topics - Law & Government - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown